1. Field
The present invention relates to a user device, computer program product and computer system for providing secure access to a logical storage volume.
2. Description of the Related Art
Techniques for accessing and sharing remote storage devices offer a broad set of benefits for private persons as well as for the business world. Data stored solely on built-in hardware of end-user devices is prone to loss due to disc failure or incorrect use of application software. Methods for copying data to data repositories on physically remote machines are therefore commonly used to prevent a potentially catastrophic data loss. For enterprise environments, remote storage volumes are used for backup purposes but also as a repository for shared data and programs that can be accessed from different client machines in different locations. Several business companies have proceeded further in this direction and use diskless workstations instead of standard PCs or notebooks with inbuilt hard disks. Those diskless workstations receive data and software, including the operating system, via the network from a server, thereby significantly reducing maintenance efforts, e.g. in respect of licensing software or providing uniform system configurations to the client machines.
It is common practice for larger companies to store sensitive business data and programs on in-house data and application servers run by the company's own IT department. Many medium-sized businesses, however, cannot afford to run an IT department on their own and have to rely on external IT services, e.g. remote storage volume providers. Questions regarding the security of sensitive data immediately arise in this scenario, in particular in countries where industrial espionage is a common practice, if the company deals with medical or personal data or if a company has to fear unauthorized inspection of its internal data for any other reason.